Popping pimples is good for your mental state – so here are five steps to squeezing that zit

A pimple, zit, blemish, whitehead, blackhead, cyst, or other piece of acne on your face, shoulders, back, or butt. Sometimes it’s due to a nasty ingrown hair, sometimes it’s just because your skin is a zit factory.

Laura Cooksey, an aesthetician at a California acne clinic says that “pimple popping offers instant gratification. People find it pleasurable the way that having your legs waxed is pleasurable. It can be uncomfortable and sort of nasty — we’ve all been grossed out when the pus hits the mirror — but you’re doing something that can help you toward your goal of clearer skin.”

And Dr. James Fulton from the American Academy of Dermatology says that popping zits “…definitely can be helpful… as long as you know the right way to do it.”

After a hot shower to loosen and soften the skin, disinfect a sharp thin needle with rubbing alcohol.

Gently prick the pimple’s surface.

Take two tissues and wrap your index fingers with them.

Squeeze from the sides, confidently but gently, using a down-and-in motion. Don’t force it. If the pimple is ready, it’ll pop. If it doesn’t, leave it be. Be sure to stop if clear fluid or blood starts to come out.

Continuing to work at a lesion that is not ready to be popped can lead to scarring.

Rest assured, you’re not the only one who is popping away at your face or back. It’s just not something people talk about in public… or is it?

For your viewing pleasure, you can always visit the website POP THAT ZIT — a website devoted to sharing videos of pimple popping prowess.

That’s where you’ll find such delightful videos as “THE WORLD’S BIGGEST ZIT” (like the one below):